A Palm-sized community established

By Vishnu K. Mahmud

JAKARTA (JP): Many people are now using the Palm Vx PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) to manage their life. They have the choice of using the phone book, e-mail database, appointment book and memo software to keep their thoughts and plans organized. They can also play around with hundreds of Palm OS (Operating System) software (ranging from games to programming utilities) that are available to download from the Internet. And more interestingly, they can establish their own community at ID-Palm, an Indonesian Palm OS Users Group.

ID-Palm (www.id-palm.com) started off as an Indonesian mailing list for enthusiasts of the Palm Handheld device. Users can trade information, buy and sell units as well as ask for help. The community has about 100 plus members ranging from students to salesmen, housewives to engineers. They recently held a gathering at Le Meredien Hotel to meet up in person, see a few handheld inspired stories and talk "palm".

PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are now a part of our digital daily lives. Businesspeople use them to schedule appointments, housewives to organize their households and students to get organized for the first time in their lives. You no longer have to buy them in the U.S., or even Singapore, as most computer shops in Jakarta's Ratu Plaza, Mangga Dua or Taman Anggrek supply them.

Sacha V. Diest, the creator of the mailing list, says that ID- Palm is an excellent venue to meet with other Palm owners. All types of units are part of the group, from the first model Palm Pilot to the latest HandSpring Palm inspired Visor. Diest himself is a proud owner of the colorful Palm IIIc (the only Palm created unit that has a color display except for Handspring's Visor Prism).

The gathering at Le Meridien was an opportunity for the group to meet face to face and to see some presentations from the users and sponsors. PT Triyaso, who has a PDA inspired store known as the "Palm Center" in Ratu Plaza, and InTouch, a cellular telephone service company, were proud sponsors for the event. Both showcased their products as well as the range of new technology that can be used by Palm.

Palm is not the only PDA in the market. IBM, Samsung and HandSpring also use the Palm OS. Competition is coming from the Microsoft Empire with their latest software offering, the Pocket PC (formerly known as Windows CE) that run in Compaq, HP and Casio handhelds.

Diest says there is a handheld unit for any requirement so people are free to choose what they need. He may play video or MP3 once in a while on a handheld but it did not justify the purchase of the unit.

As an engineer, he said he can use his compact unit to store critical technical data as well as manage project data. He synchronizes with Microsoft Project to make sure that he and his office are up to date with the latest data and time schedules. More importantly, he can do that on site (outside the office) using his Palm's infra-red (IR) port and his IR-ready cell phone.

If any user has a question or story to tell, they can always post it on-line. The mailing list uses egroups (www.egroups.com) to run their list and is relatively easy to join. The content is filled with tips and advice on hardware and stores, as well as some hardware and software news for the palm. Supermodel Claudia Schiffer (www.claudiaschiffer.com), for example, has just released her new signature Palm Vx model. The unit can be purchased at her site and comes with diet software and a fitness tracker.

More importantly, ID-Palm is a community of people who share a common technological preference. As a cohesive unit, they have the power to demand changes should a store or website disappoint them. The net adage goes, an upset Internet consumer would not just tell 50 friends, but post his opinion on 5,000 message boards. The same goes for online communities; they have the power to change things. They are also pioneers in the handheld field so they can ensure that implementing palmtops in any area can be done efficiently.

So if you're a Palm OS handheld owner (or are thinking about buying one), log on to ID-Palm and see what the fuss is all about. (vmahmud@yahoo.com)